The Telescope Catalyst
by craklyn
Summary: Luna decides to use some unusual methods in her research and asks help from a well-known astrophysicist. She learns that electricity can only take you so far, but then again, magic has its quirks as well.


A/N: Inspired by Twin Exchange's April Challenge, I decided to write a crossover fic.

Quote: "Who understands these things?"

Prompt: Storm clouds

I hope you enjoy my unusual pairing!

Disclaimer: I own neither the HP, nor the BBT, which is very sad.

* * *

**The Telescope Catalyst**

Luna lifted her eyes from her notepad and nodded. The address was right. She stood in front of a Muggle university in California. She was told that Muggles had surprisingly adept equipment for researching stars and the space, and wanted to find out if she could use them to map the habitats of Moon Frogs. She had been researching Moon Frogs for three months now and was sure that with these slightly unnatural research methods she could gain results, having to use only small amounts of magic in the process, thus making sure that the Moon Frogs weren't distracted by the research.

Luna wandered in, briefly stopping by the cafeteria, where numerous people were hunched over their trays, some idly chatting with each other while eating their lunch. She contemplated buying a Muggle beverage, but decided to leave that for later. After wandering in the numerous hallways, she finally found the Physics Department, and the office she was looking for. The door was ajar and she knocked three times before peering in.

"Excuse me," she said to the man sitting behind a large desk, who lifted his head and looked at her with wide eyes, "Are you, umm", she had to pause and look down at her notepad, "Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali?"

The man nodded vigorously and started quickly rummaging around his desk drawers. He seemed not to find what he was looking for, and gave up after a while. Looking slightly nauseated, he looked at Luna and swallowed visibly.

"Hi, I'm Luna Lovegood, and I was told that you're the expert on Moon-related things."

Dr. Koothrappali blinked, before nodding again and pointing towards a chair in front of his desk, offering her a nervous smile.

Luna briefly wondered if the man was infected by Wrackspurts, but moved to sit on the offered chair and smiled at the man who was now staring at his hands.

She pulled a Muggle fountain pen from behind her ear and propped her notepad against her knee.

"I'm doing a research, in which your help and the equipment you have here would be very beneficial", Luna said, before pausing for a bit, "However, the nature of my research is rather sensitive, so I'll tell you about it, and whether we can continue with it, you can decide after hearing a bit more about it. Would that be okay?" she looked at the man, who still hadn't uttered a word.

He seemed to be contemplating for a while, but finally lifted his head and nodded, motioning her to continue.

"You do speak English, don't you?" Luna smiled at the very quiet man in front of her.

Dr. Koothrappali nodded with smallest of grins on his face, but as his eyes met hers, his expression turned into a frown and he shook his head.

It was her turn to blink. Wrackspurts. They would explain a lot.

She cleared her throat. "Are you aware of the existence of the wizarding population of the world?"

If the man had been wide-eyed before, that was nothing compared to his expression now. His mouth opened and closed, but instead of talking he settled for a tiny squeak as he shook his head.

"Well", Luna gave him a small smile, "It does exist and I'm a witch, as well."

His mouth formed an o-shape, but he didn't seem to have panicked. Maybe she wouldn't have to obliviate him after all.

"There's a magical species called Moon Frog and it lives on the Moon. I study these frogs, and this is where I need your help. I'm unable to actually go to the Moon myself, so if it was possible to use your equipment, it would help my research a great deal."

Dr. Koothrappali blinked again. Luna couldn't help but smile. At least the man didn't seem to be scared or disgusted by the new information. That tended to happen unfortunately often with Muggles.

"With your permission, I would magically enhance the telescopes to be able to map the habitats." She continued calmly, taking a look at the surroundings at the same time. The room was rather tidy, there were several big whiteboards propped against the wall, and a model of the solar system sitting on a shelf.

Dr. Koothrappali tilted his head, looking confused. His lips formed the word _magic_, but no sound came out. He lifted his eyebrows and his face adopted a concerned look.

Luna wished he would speak to her, but was nevertheless happy that the man had very expressive eyes. Very dark, expressive eyes. "Of course the spell would be only temporary, and after I lift it, your telescopes will be back to normal. You don't have to worry about that." She gave him a glance she hoped would be convincing and warm, "But I would need your help to operate the telescopes and other equipment."

Luna turned a page on her notebook and offered a sketch of a Moon Frog to the silent doctor to look at, "Would you be willing to help me with this research, Dr. Koothrappali?"

He looked at the rough sketch Luna had drawn some weeks ago and the right corner of his mouth curved into a smile. He looked at Luna and nodded.

"Thank you, Dr. Koothrappali, this is wonderful!" Luna smiled and noted that his dark eyes twinkled as he smiled his half-smile, which she found very cute.

–

The next evening, when Luna arrived at the CalTech to start the research, she found Dr. Koothrappali drinking beer in his office.

"Hello", Luna greeted the man behind his desk, noting that his hair was more curly than the day before. "I was under the impression that Muggles weren't allowed to drink alcoholic beverages at work." She said, as she perched the teetering pile of papers she had brought on his desk.

"We're not, actually." Dr. Koothrappali mumbled.

"Oh, today you speak!" Luna exclaimed delightedly, noting his accent that sounded rather similar to the Patil twins', but without the British note. "This makes things a lot easier."

"I can't talk to women when I'm sober." He said, offering a small smile, "I hope a few beers don't bother you much."

"That's interesting. Not to any women?" Luna couldn't help but ask more about his curious problem.

"No no", he said, "Only to women I'm not related to."

"That is fascinating. But seems awfully difficult. Do you go on dates?" She inquired.

Dr. Koothrappali blushed at her question. "Umm, sometimes. But it makes thing easier that dates usually take place in bars or restaurants." He scratched the back of his neck before continuing, "Easier to get toasted."

Luna observed the tinted cheeks and it occurred to her that her question may have been too personal. "Oh, I'm sorry Dr. Koothrappali, I didn't mean to pry."

"Don't worry, I'm aware that my selective mutism is an intriguing subject", he waved his hand dismissively, "But please, Miss Lovegood, call me Rajesh."

Luna nodded. "If you'll call me Luna."

"Ok, Luna, should we get to work?" Rajesh smiled, his eyes twinkling again in a way, which Luna found herself to be already quite fond of, and she responded to his smile.

"Yes, Rajesh, we should."

–

The observatory was filled with all kinds of gadgets she had never seen before. Surely she was familiar with telescopes, she had done her Astronomy lessons, but these things were something else. The telescopes were connected to things with big boards that had pictures and text on them and another kind of boards with the alphabet on them. These were the things Muggles use for everything, she was sure.

"These are called computers, right?" She glanced at Rajesh, who had already bend over a set of alphabet and was pressing the buttons with remarkable speed. "Who understands these things?" She continued with a quiet voice.

He turned his head and flashed her a grin, "Yeah, we operate the big telescopes with these. It's really easy, actually, once you know what you're doing."

Luna couldn't help but doubt his words a little. She drew in breath. It's was really good to have someone who knew what he was doing, then. "Do I have to learn to use one?"

"You don't do computers?" Rajesh inquired with a surprised tone.

"No." Luna peered at the telescope that looked very different from the ones she had used, but was still recognizable as one. "Electricity doesn't make much sense when we have wands to do everything instead." Luna paused. "It is brilliant, though, how Muggles have found ways to use it to do all kinds of things.. I just saw a washing machine the other day, what a curious thing."

Rajesh let out a chuckle, "I guess we both have a lot to learn from the other world, but don't worry, I'll operate the telescopes for you and let you do your magic."

Luna watched the man whose cheeks had turned slightly pink at his words, and smiled. Muggles were curious, with their curious tools and curious manners, but she was quite happy. Rajesh was clearly very smart and willing to help her despite the fact that she was a witch. And also very cute, she added as an afterthought.

Luna pulled out her wand, noting the look of amazement on Rajesh's face as she did so. Her smile turned into a small smirk, yes, she did have some gadgets of her own, as well.

"Ok, let's try this out." She said, as she carefully tapped the telescope and muttered a few spells.

"Woah, it really works!" Rajesh exclaimed when he saw the pictures on his computer change. He glanced at Luna with wide eyes, before pressing the buttons on the machine again. Then, he let out a small gasp and motioned her to come and look. "Are those the things you're looking for?" He asked with an astonished tone.

Luna hurried to peer over his shoulder and let out a squeal of joy. "Yes, Moon Frogs! This worked!"

Rajesh turned his head to flash her a smile, "Let's do some research.", before sitting down on a chair, looking at the screen in amazement.

–

A few hours had passed, when the research had to be paused. Dark storm clouds were beginning to gather in the sky, obscuring their vision. Rajesh explained that the electronics were rather sensitive to the power surges that a thunder storm could cause and they would have to shut down the system for a while.

"This shouldn't last long, though", Rajesh said, as he unplugged a computer. "Once the clouds pass, we can start again."

"Ok", Luna nodded. "What should we do in the meantime?"

"I could fetch us some food from the cafeteria?" Rajesh suggested.

"Oh, that does sound good." She looked up at him from the ground where she was sitting, surrounded by the papers and maps that were now full of markings and sketches. "Any chance there would be chocolate pudding?"

"Maybe, I'll check. Be right back." He smiled and closed the door behind him.

Luna had only had time to organize half of her papers, when he came back.

"That was fast." Luna looked at the food he had brought and realized that she was actually hungry.

Rajesh nodded, placed the food on a table and took a sip from the beer he had left there an hour ago. "The cafeteria isn't that far away from the observatory."

Luna frowned at the man offering her a sandwich. "You had to have some beer before you could talk?"

"Umm, yeah, it's not about being drunk, I guess, it's about having that encouragement. I'm not really sure." He took a bite of his sandwich, looking slightly embarrassed.

"You know, I could help you with that." Luna said.

He looked up, "Really? How?"

"I could do a small charm that would have you be a tiny bit drunk all the time." She gave him a crooked smile, "Not much, mind you, it wouldn't make you act different. Just enough so that you know it yourself. Encouragement, as you say."

Rajesh stayed silent for a while, weighing up her proposal. Then he shrugged. "Oh what the hell, let's give it a go."

He looked a bit scared when Luna took her wand out for the second time and gave it a little flick.

"How's that?" She asked, putting the wand down.

"Hmh," He mused, "I do feel a bit lighter, I guess. More relaxed."

"Good, that should do the trick." She smiled, before returning to her sandwich.

After just a few moments, when they had finished the sandwiches and were discussing their favourite desserts while eating the chocolate pudding that Rajesh had brought, a lightning stroke and the electricity went out. Luna had conjured up a small flame, which now sat in a small jar.

"That's really useful." Rajesh said, as he observed the flame that was burning without the help of wood or gas, "I mean, things you can do with magic. I've never even thought that would be possible."

"Yeah, well" Luna smiled, "Things you do with electricity are pretty handy as well."

"Can't do much with electricity right now." Rajesh frowned.

"Good thing I'm here, then." She smiled.

Rajesh looked up, the light from the flame dancing across his eyes, "Yeah, it is."

Luna watched the man in front of her. His face was calm and his features were soft, but his eyes were determined and oh so dark. Magical. She smiled at her thought and wondered what magical meant. Was it spells and charms, bangs and transformations, or was it more like small moments that held a tension that made her skin tingle, the rate at which her heart was thumping when they sat so close to each other, his lips so close to hers, and at the same time so far away.

What she knew was when the magical moment stopped. It stopped when the lights suddenly flickered back on as the electricity stole away the magic. She almost laughed. And yet she felt incredibly disappointed.

"Oh, the power's back on." Rajesh mumbled, as he turned to look away, running his hand through his hair.

"Back to work, then?" Luna's voice was strangely out of breath, and she had to clear her throat.

"Yeah." He said, sounding a bit strange as well.

–

They continued working for a few hours more, before Luna was confident that her maps were accurate enough, and the new information was sure to help her prove her hypothesis on the subject. She gathered the papers into an even more teetering pile than before, which would have to be shrunk before she attempted to move it. She glanced at Rajesh, who was telling her about his friends who also worked at CalTech, and smiled as he took a sip of his ice tea. The beer sat forgotten on the table.

"You know what?" She said.

"What?" He looked at her, with the glass still in his hand.

"You're not drunk and you're still talking to me." Luna couldn't help but flash a smile as she rose and walked past the man who looked positively dumbstruck.

"But you said your spell would make me tipsy!"

"I lied." she said, pouring some ice tea for herself as well, before leaning against the table, facing him. "It was only a mild cheering charm. It's probably worn off quite some time ago."

"Oh." He sighed. "So it was only a placebo effect."

"I guess you can say so." She nodded. "But it's still working."

His eyebrows disappeared behind his hair with the realization. His mouth opened and closed again, as he gathered courage to speak without the alcohol or the magic. His eyes locked with hers.

"It is." He said. His voice seemed to surprise him. "It really is." A wide grin spread on his face. "You're a genius, you know that?" He asked Luna.

"I know I am quite clever, but I wouldn't go as far as to say genius." She mused.

Rajesh walked across the floor. "Genius or not, thank you." He said, as he wrapped his arms around her.

Luna hugged him back, glad that he appreciated her unorthodox help.

His back felt pleasantly warm and broad under her hands, and she couldn't help but let them slide across his shoulder blades as she drew back. Her hands lingered on his biceps as she looked at him. His eyes were serious, and his pupils were dilated. She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't come up it any words. The magic was there again. In the Muggle world, surrounded by electrical equipment she didn't know how to use, standing close to the Muggle scientist she had just met the day before. The roles had turned, he was the one with the magic ability, she was the mute one.

Then he kissed her. Softly, almost like he was doing an experiment. She lift her fingers to trace the outline of his jaw. His hand slid down her side.

They broke the kiss, their hands remaining where they were, as they stood there in a somewhat of an embrace, looking at each other.

"I'm glad I decided to try out unusual research methods." She breathed, "Surprising results."

"So am I." He grinned, before kissing her again.


End file.
